Hipsters the continent over have started to abandon soccer as their de-facto "game of the people" after a recent boom in popularity within the United States and Canada.
Social dynamics, better access to games, a shift in the viewership demographics, and more of a television presence mean that soccer has obtained a grip on the tender social contract that we all exist with, everyday.
Recent statistics indicate that viewership of the Women's World Cup skyrocketed in 2015 with the major soccer leagues in the United States and Canada gaining a small number of viewers as well. Recent tours of North America by major European teams in anticipation of the English, Spanish, and Italian leagues kicking off cranked anticipation to an all time high for soccer viewership and this has turned off the hipster to the sport immensely.
The Nutmeg News spoke to some hipsters about the situation.
"Well, this was my sport" said John St. Claire "I liked it before it became popular. I had Italian newspapers sent over to my house, even during the internet age. However, it has become very clear that soccer has become popular, even if it isn't at the level of the NFL in our country. I just can't find the time these days to care."
When asked about what sport he is now the most interested in St. Claire had the following to say, "Well, I looked around at everyone my age that is young and cares about sports and I asked them all what they liked. Not one person said baseball, so I'm going to jump on that bandwagon with both feet. It's all about Japanese baseball and statistics these days. I've started reading a lot of Bill James so I can talk about advanced math in Japanese Baseball and I'm watching a lot of documentaries on the Japanese game."
At the same time St. Claire said he is trying to learn more about the Yomiuri Giants and the supporters culture of his new team. "they are just more cultured, including noisemakers and chants and supremely organized skill. This is all Bushido based samurai culture, clearly. I watched the Criterion collection of Forty-Seven Ronin last night and it all parallels."
While the trends may have changed, one thing has not and that is St. Claire's love of something before everyone else has experienced it. "Everybody knows about Zlatan and Messi now. Everyone knows about St Pauli and even Dulwich Hamlet. No one knows about Tetsuya Utsumi and Hirokazu Ibata. I'm back in love."
The Nutmeg News will have more on these cultural changes as they happen.